Everything to Play For: How Videogames are Changing Our World

by Marijam Did

The inside story of video games, and how they can be used to to change the worldToday over 3 billion people play video games regularly. By 2027 this will create an economy of $0.5 trillion a year, larger than films and music combined. More people are watching the competitive finals of Counter-Strike than those of real-life NHL or NBA.There are now games of complexity, innovation and imagination, but it is also an art form that is driven by the marketplace. There is little scrutiny of how the games are made - the poorly paid click worker, the dominance of the platforms. Nor is there discussion of the politics of the games themselves, often violent, and the culture that surrounds them.Telling  an alternative history of games from Pong to GTA VI, industry insider Marijam Did explores the games and their communities. She asks why the US military use gaming to train troop. How Gamergate exposed the deep misogyny against minority players.She tells the story of game workers  who have started to organise in order to demand better conditions. Why the Chinese state polices access to certain platforms. In response she argues if we can imagine videogames as a challenge to the marketplace. With an abundance of examples of games that are designed to educate, inspire and promote a more progressive politics, Dad argues that we should start to understand how games can change the world, and the time is now.

Genres: Nonfiction, Games, Politics, Gaming, Video Games, History, Technology

288 pages, Paperback

Published September 17, 2024

Reviews

[Malcolm · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the key problems with gaming is that we seriously misunderstand it, seeing it as trivial, as marginal, as time wasting inanity. Yet in terms of financial power it is a bigger industry that music and movies combined, and unlike most other narrative based forms of entertainment, in many cases the game’s users can enter into the game world and influence story and outcome; unlike movies and novels, game texts are not fixed. The space for engagement with text making, world building, and active agency is not only profound but designed into the phenomenon. There are many, many reasons for taking games seriously.

I have worked as an academic in and around forms of popular culture for many years, but gaming hasn’t really been on my radar (the screen was pretty cluttered anyway) except when it intersected with my work in and around play. Of late I have found myself working with students researching aspects of gaming – and so for me, as someone who has been around ideas related to the social meaning of popular culture, this book turned out to be an ideal way into that world. Marijam Did takes through five key areas of work and sets of issues. Starting out with a solid outline of gaming history she takes us into game design including software production, player networks and communities, game impacts, and game hardware manufacture. The key point, the driver of it all, is to open out and show the multiple ways games and gaming are sites of struggle, of contested meaning, of dissent and resistance – alongside, of course, reminding us of all the times they’re not.

While in these discussions there is a tendency, understandable, to focus on independent games, on those that avoid corporate powers and the excesses of patriarchy and imperialism, Did notes these make up such a tiny proportion of games-related revenue and engagement that they barely register – not when a game such as Minecraft can rack up over 70000 years’ worth of playing time in just 4 years, in one country! (And that was before the Covid-19 pandemic.) As a result, Did is more interested in corporate gaming, in the ways players subvert and disrupt expectations, but also in the ways those expectations develop, or are developed, within the industry and its products. Here she points to ways to challenge and begin to recast gaming as an industry, and by implication as a practice.

The closest I get to game practice (aside from the ubiquitous and distracting card games on my laptop, and since the arcade gaming world of Centipede, PacMan and Space Invaders) is when my grandkids and their friends are playing – but I understand issues of game narrative, design and mechanics because although specific to their form videogames are also often narrative based, so there are stories and with characteristics designed to keep us involved. Yet even with this rudimentary knowledge, this kept me engaged, explained the field without leaving me feel like I was being spoken down to (aficionados might have a different response, but then this book probably isn’t for you) and without feeling this is an introduction or a primer.

There seems to be active engagement with debates and disputes in the field, with positions traced and the terms of those debates laid out. There is also a real sense that although effecting change in gaming is a big ask, it is achievable – but more, working with gaming as a part of strategies for change is much more feasible. If you’re interested in why gaming matters (even if only to get a better sense of how and why the political right has been able to use gaming based approach in building their recent success), this is a place to start. Highly recommended.

[Owen Hatherley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm in the category the author describes at the start as roughly 'old people who didn't play video games for decades and then rediscovered them around the lockdown' and, as that person, I found this very lively, informative and thoughtful on the (sometimes gross, sometimes generous) politics and potentials of an artform she rightly notes most leftists prefer not to think about for some reason.

[Ondřej Trhoň · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very important, very timely, accessible yet uncompromising in its outlook. Pushes games criticism beyond representation to look at cruel modes of its (software/hardware) production while never forgetting what is joyous and beautiful about it. Sometimes it could benefit from a bit more editing, I think, to make arguments flow better and stand out more, but overall, beautiful. 4.5/5

(Translation to Czech by me forthcoming in 2025 with Utopia Libri!)

[Ariq Hatibie · Rating 5 out of 5]

No better crossover than gaming and liberation

[anarcho-lesbian · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was simultaneously focused and all over the place at the same time. I didn't really enjoy my time with it and some of the bizarro claims made in it, either. :-(

[Arturas Rumiancevas · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one is written by a friend, so one may consider my rating and review to be biased...

Yet I don't intend to be biased. I dedicated my whole life to video games and to understanding video game tropes, trends, vision, narratives and so on. There are many books, that could be presented as an anthropologic dive into the games industry and this one might be one of them. As others, with its unique angle. I think such books, regardless of the underlying angle, are very important to modern audiences. Mainly before we have this generational gap in understanding the industry as a whole. Many parents, can't communicate or moderate family conversations on video game topics, simply because they lack the knowledge. Even if gaming was big while they were young - the world has changed. For the younger audiences - I think it is important to understand the effects that real-life political, economic and social shifts have on the industry itself, down to the very basic parts of what the video game is: work conditions, freedom of expression, game design, artistic choices, monetization and so on. It is a book, that intends to promote left ideas (and one, can easily reject them while reading) through an unexpected narrative of video game history. It's thought-provoking and (in my case) somewhat distracting. A book, that while reading, I had a constant debate in my head. With myself and with imaginary Marijam.

Loved it. Highly recommend. If not anything else - it will not leave you emotionless.

[Oscar Seager · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting read on why games are so important to many people as a hobby but also provides a more serious outlook on the industry. Namely in terms of the largely unacknowledged influence of games on the political view of gamers both in the messages conveyed by the game itself but also in the mechanics it presents, specifically in multiplayer spaces.

It also delves into the politics and controversy surrounding companies and game creation both from the perspective of developers, something I already followed rather frequently, but also elaborates on the means of production and sustainability of gaming for the environment and working conditions generally.

Ultimately, it's quite an eye opening negative outlook but one that ends on a hopeful note of what gaming should be at it's core and how the industry could one day reach it.

[Gab]

I unfortunately have to DNF this book around 55%

I don't know who this book is for. People who are very active in the video games world and community will already be aware of most if not all of the controversies, events and issues explained in this book (and will notice how some details are actually wrong or weirdly explained/mentioned), while people who are not really into video games likely will never pick up this book. It is stuck in an in-between where the writing assumes the reader needs definitions of basic gamer language, but also that they'll care about super niche details and examples instead of an overview of general topics or problems to address with video games.

I think this book's strength is the first section about video games history (although it is quite US centric) and it could be interesting for someone who doesn't know about video games but wants to know why they're always associated with violence.


Thank you NetGalley and Verso Books for the opportunity to read this ARC.

[Jo · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best if not the best book I've read about videogames. Lucid, rich, and really packs it in. The historical introduction is a wonderful succinct overview, and the "Efficacy" level draws all kinds of interesting parallels with avant-gardism in fine art. Did doesn't dismiss questions of diverse representation, but she skilfully puts them in context and in proportion, frequently returning to the material realities that underpin the production and consumption of games (and their hardware), and the collective action of gamer communities. The book is organised as a game with levels and a final boss, but the chapters also work pretty well stand-alone, so it is browsable too. Did wears several relevant hats: games scholar, games industry insider, trade union organiser, and of course gamer (with a special penchant for FPS).

[Matthew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mostly good, though there are some cringy components and has a weak conclusion. Correctly diagnoses and points the finger at many things about the way capitalism has shaped the gaming industry in ways that are awful and destructive, and also correctly poses correct questions around the revolutionary potential of the industry that generalize to other parts of the economy.

[Ole · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,5

[Nathan Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really inspiring history and critical appraisal of gaming as an industry and medium that gives me hope for what it could be if people are motivated to change it

[nekko · Rating 4 out of 5]

patiko politinė kompiuterinių žaidimų prizmė

[R. Reddebrek · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reviewed for Organise! Magazine
See https://organisemagazine.org.uk/2024/...

Alternative link https://reddebreksbowl.blogspot.com/2...

[Emi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Publishing date: 17.09.2024
Thank you to Netgalley and Verso Books for the ARC. My opinions are my own.

This book has me feeling a little mixed ...

I picked this up because I have been gaming since the early 2000's and still going strong to this day. Learning more about my other favorite hobby is always fun. Except ... I didn't learn anything new.

The biggest problem for this book is who it caters to. Gamers like myself who have been here for years already know most if not all that this book is talking about. It doesn't bring anything new to the table, and what it brings feels more targeted at people who might not play videogames.

This group of people, those who don't play, might find this book either too hard to read or not for them at all. It is filled with terminology you might require a bit of knowledge about to understand. Thankfully, the author has an index and definitions/explanations of the words on almost every page. But this makes the book a lot heavier to read (at least for me)

I did enjoy the talk of how the gaming environment is both extremely toxic (to people and the planet), but also grounds for a great hobby and community, and artform that will and has ravaged the world. These, in my opinion, are the themes that the book would have benefitted even more to talk about. Although, I did enjoy the chapter on videogame history.

Final ranking and star rating?
3 stars, C tier. As mentioned, I am very mixed. This book will have a hard time finding the right audience. Some interesting talking points. Some themes that more people need to talk about and confront.
A very middle of the street kind of book.

[Adam McKiernan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not totally sure who this book is for (it may be for someone), but it’s not really for me. Well written but the subject matter felt a little all over the place. The history section felt like such a high level overview that I didn’t get anything from it; I’m not sure I have it in me to read about Gamergate one more time.

The only chapter I found seriously interesting was on how videogames can be politically challenging. I actually found the comparisons to the world of experimental and fine art to be apt. Games are a weird art form that do have the potential to create unique relations between the player and object or, maybe more importantly, between players. That said, they also have hurdles to reaching this potential, agential distance being one. That’s all to say, there’s been some great theory recently on how games convey meaning and this not engaging with much of that theory made it feel like it missed some crucial points.

I don’t mean to sound too harsh; I really appreciate Did’s focus on hardware and the highly exploitative process necessary to engage with any videogame. I also liked how she called out much of the progressive game space (even progressive indies!) as a space filled with liberal cultural signaling, not serious attempts to actually engender any change in players. I think this book could’ve benefitted from either narrowing its scope or being a longer, more in-depth look at the topics presented.

[Trynot2scream · Rating 3 out of 5]

作為一個平常會玩遊戲的人，我確實感受到電玩受到的關注不再像過去一般只停留在玩家族群，電玩透過電競、電影電視的改編、甚至是話題新作，逐漸出現在「主流媒體」，讓原本不玩電玩、對電玩產業一無所悉的人似乎也開始對電玩以及電玩產業有了一些見解(像是我爸常常覺得中華網龍在台灣是間很厲害電子遊戲開發商之類的)。不過受到關注帶來的影響絕對並非都是正面的，電玩作為揮灑想像力的容器，也開始受到希望改變現況的業界人士，或是對於電玩產業一知半解但卻剛好看到一些對他們而言不甚恰當的內容，而感到憂心的群眾所指責，進而要求做出一些修正。電玩絕非是唯一受影響的產業，電影電視在2010年代中期便已經出現類似的跡象，因此出現了一些「令部分人士感到費解的選角」；而在電玩產業上，則是有人開始指責遊戲的角色變得不那麼有「有吸引力」，以此為出發點瑪麗亞姆·迪特帶領我們了解電玩的歷史以及電玩與真實世界中的政治意義。

《電玩即政治》從電玩的發展開始談起，試圖告訴讀者，我們所熟知的熱門系列作是在何種架構中誕生，當中部份的作品隱含某些政治宣傳的主題，搭配易懂的機制與來自暴力的刺激感，讓電玩遊戲往特定方向探索其可能性的同時，也讓許多非遊戲玩家的族群產生電玩遊戲對玩家造成負面影響的觀感。在資金有限、開發曠日費時的狀況下，電玩產業逐漸將客群集中於特定客群，將電玩遊戲打造成男孩子的興趣。雖然隨著科技的進步，遊戲的開發門檻下降，但在電玩遊戲的主題上圍繞在特定的幾個主題，書中瑪麗亞姆·迪特提出了暴力、厭女、殖民等現代電玩常見的主題，說明這些主題為何開始發展，又為何會持續發展的原因。

隨著網際網路的發達，玩家在線上遊戲中組織社群一同冒險；利用網路上的論壇討論遊戲也使玩家凝聚為社群，瑪麗亞姆·迪特舉出了數個例子說明這些由玩家本身的社群如何建立出遊戲機制外的秩序，例如《​魔​獸​世界》的玩家為了分配戰利品能盡可能地讓積極參與的玩家能有更多的機會拿到戰利品，因此制定出屠龍點數的機制，降低玩家為了裝備鬧得不愉快的狀況。

當然也會有負面影響，例如玩家門事件中，支持者找到了有類似想法的同伴，在相互影響下誕生出正當化自身行為的社群。瑪麗亞姆認為，電玩遊戲既有爭取自由和社會正義的豐富潛力，卻也能搖身一變，成為散播仇恨邊緣化族群、惡意騷擾無辜者，甚至推廣法西斯主義陰謀論的工具。然而卻因為左派人士的輕視，讓右派人士有機可趁，在電玩社群當中有強大的影響力。另一個因為社群的發展產生影響力的是獨立遊戲，這些專注於創意、主題的遊戲經常能做出能夠點出社會議題的遊戲，甚至是運用制定售價的方式使玩家注意到某些問題。不過瑪麗亞姆在此指出，「我們很難定義是什麼改變了人們的想法，也很難篤定地認為，某個人是因為在某個時間點接觸這款電玩作品所以才轉換政治陣營。主流媒體總是認為遊戲會讓玩家變得極端或暴力，討論也總是聚焦於相關論述，忽略遊戲推行平等思想的潛力。我們得要檢視那些自稱『推動進步』的遊戲實際上究竟呈現出怎樣的社會關係。」不過無論獨立遊戲能否帶來改變社會的力量，遊戲業界的過勞、製造遊戲硬體的血汗工廠等問題已經成為不容忽視的議題，瑪麗亞姆歸咎於業者由少數人掌握大權的體制上，為了脫離這樣的生產模式，玩家們必須用消費做出決定。

在看完《電玩即政治》後，我最想說的是作者的左派立場十分明確，而我們這些需要受到教育的玩家則是「資本主義的囚徒」。然而在閱讀的過程中我時常沒有被說服，例如書中提出的女性在20世紀時，被認為更適合程式設計師的工作，而「在二戰期間科技業、製造業的研發部門必須仰賴女性工作者」跟「1960年代中期IBM的心理學家所做的分析得出『優秀的程式設計師不喜歡人』」兩件事情結合在一起就變成女性無法在程式設計師這條路上難以脫穎而出的原因實在讓我感到很困惑，直至今日，女性在各行各業中要脫穎而出仍會遭遇到許多阻礙，甚至有玻璃天花板這個名詞專門描述這樣的狀況，而二戰結束後女性婚後回歸家庭的比例不低，也是男性進入......基本上就是各行各業的比例高很多的原因。
此外，用現代的電腦普及率去思考進入遊戲產業的階層，說明藍領階級因為當時買不起電腦所以與遊戲產業無緣，可是你如果這輩子沒看過河，你為什麼會覺得自己需要學會游泳呢?我可以理解白人男性在電玩產業發展初期便取得了主導權的事實，但作者的論述經常讓我不太買單。我不禁想問，這些幾乎都是特定族群的掌權者在摸索電玩發展的可能性時，又為什麼有辦法思考到多元性的問題呢?


我或許很鄉愿，但我想他們不僅無法想像其他族群的生活，他們還必須要為一家企業負責，在根本不確定這個產業的發展時，能夠找到熱銷商品的優先順序應該會比注重多元性更前面一些(更別說他們根本無法想像多元性這件事)。閱讀過程中，書中諸如此類的困惑綜橫交錯，而我寫的註解大部分都變成對作者強烈個人觀點的吐嘈。不過，即便這本書未必帶給我們全新的洞見，讓我們有機會重新審視電玩／電玩產業，並且為電玩產業的改變發聲，但至少我們可以更審慎地面對遊戲產業「餵」我們吃的東西，我們無法深入遊戲製作的領域去改變他們，但透過消費我們確實能使遊戲產業、內容、玩法、架構有所改變。

透過《電玩即政治》我意識到到某些訊息真的需要訓練，就像電影電視的置入性行銷一樣，有時看似只是角色間的閒聊過程，卻輕描淡寫的將產品的特色及優點展示出來，傳統媒體是如此，而電玩也一樣可以有宣傳事物的目的性。當我們盲目地接受，最終我們就浸泡於其中，無法意識到這些事物的侵襲，這大概是我閱讀這本書最大的收穫。

[Benjamin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had some interesting ideas, for example, viewing play as a civic act, or insisting on surprising rather than normatively “safe” narratives in videogames. Ultimately, I think Did is totally right to point out that progressives have been ignoring this space for too long, and that many realise only today how influential this scene has been in the rise of the new right. In general, I liked the effort to tell a non-obvious story about the many facets of the videogame industry and possibilities for its critique and change. But despite this effort, I still couldn’t shake the feeling that the book wants to be a rallying call rather than a comprehensive analysis. Which is fine of course, but not to my taste.

I don’t know whether it was the writing, but many times I had the impression that Did’s interpretation of events wasn’t fully fleshed out and often stopped short of convincingly making the case for the argument she puts forward. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think her interpretations are necessarily wrong (as some readers here seem to claim), but rather that her argument too often felt incomplete, short-circuited into big claims that I sometimes found so overly critical that it was difficult to see what the author thinks ought to happen, apart from some very niche examples she seems to commend for their cleverness.

In doing so, the book risks to fall into the very trap Did herself so fervently tries to avoid: merely preaching to the choir, providing "safe" narratives for an audience that already thinks like you. The few cases Did unambiguously champions are usually so niche and “unlikely” that the book sometimes seems to suggest the only solution lies with an eclectic group of indie, progressive, marginalized videogame designs which, in the end, rarely reach the mainstream. That mainstream is borderline demonised in Did’s book, to the point that it begs the question of whether the real (and effective) answer to the scene’s shift to the right really lies in the all-too-familiar efforts on the left to purify critique into a radical but ultimately blunt tool for self-affirmation.

[Mark Poulsen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Virkelig tilgængelig og vanvittig god introduktion til computerspil; ikke som en særlig kunstnerisk form, vi bare må hylde og derigennem kalde os bedre end alle andre, men som såvel verdensomfattende kommercialisme som politisk modstand og drømme om fællesskab og trivsel. På den måde er det en værdig introduktion til computerspil i dets rolle og funktion som del af politiske strømme over de seneste, ja, 70 år måske.

Bogen kigger på politik og spil, og konklusionen er all-out utrolig pessimistisk. Spilindustrien har en grum historie at trække på; det er heller ikke tilfældigt at en vis person i mediebilledet lige nu lyver om sin gamer-credit. Det er dybt koblet op til spil som landskab for agendaer. Hvor kunne det være rart, hvis spil faktisk kunne komme i politisk søgelys. Ikke for blot at afvise formatet som dårligdom, men for at anerkende at feltet indbefatter seismiske niveauer af diversitet lige her og nu, og magtkampe finder sted i det skjulte: på WoW serveren, i esports funding, i afrikanske miner der leverer mineraler; havene der tager imod plastik, i "outsource" spilstudier i Indonesien og Kina og USA med kummerlige vilkår, på kunstudstillinger der vil vise det mest værdige og innovative spil har at tilbyde (dvs mainstream kunstnerisk). Min tese: det er fuldstændig essentielt at forstå at computerspil eksisterer som en high-art-underdog og internet-anarki-ophav for at begynde at forstå hvordan "hyper-materialism and reactionary agendas" trives så godt derpå.

Hun behandler emnet i flere "levels": i tekstlige symboler (den mere overfladiske kamp folk ofte stopper op ved men som ofte er ligegyldig), i forbrug og fællesskab, i kunstens politisk effekt, og i produktionsforhold. Sidstnævnte er temmelig ufattelig i sin destruktive størrelse.

Værdig læsning. Samtidig er kataloget af emner og spileksempler mildest talt imponerende for at introducere til bredden og variationen af computerspil derude.

"What needs to be fought for, what needs to be won, is for gaming to divorce itself from harm" (232)

[Vaiva · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ši knyga man sukėlė dvejopus jausmus. Knyga įdomi savo turiniu. Sužinojau naujų dalykų ir faktų apie kompiuterinių žaidimų pasaulį. Skaitėsi taip pat lengvai. Knyga pagauli, įtraukianti, parašyta gerai. Paimi į rankas ir nesinori padėti.

Kai kuriose vietose supratau kad mano lietuvių IT terminijos žodyno naujumas matyt užstrigo kažkur ties 2010 metais. Pavyzdžiui, teko eiti šviestis, kas tas saitynas. Pasirodo tai tas pats žiniatinklis, tik pagal VLKK jis jau gana seniai nebevartotinas.

Mano pačios santykis su žaidimas toks keistas. Nesu užkietėjusi geimerė, tačiau įvairių žaidimų pačiupinėti teko. Labiausia mėgau strateginius, žingsninės strategijos žaidimus. Vėliau kai atsirado MMORPG, kažkiek epizodiškai teko pabandyti vieną ar kitą. Todėl jaučiu nostalgiją visai istorinei informacijai ir faktams, pateiktiems knygoje. Papildomi pliusai už nuorodas į šaltinius.

Dvejopi jausmai, todėl, kad daug kur nenorėčiau sutikti su autore. Kartais žaidimas yra tiesiog žaidimas, kuris patinka vizualiai ar dėl naudojamų mechanikų. Mano požiūriu knygoje per daug politinio lygmens. Keista taip sakyti, nes tas politinis lygmuo ir buvo pagrindinis autorės tikslas.. Pagrindinė tema (jeigu susiaurinti iki vieno sakinio) koks blogas korporacijų valdomas pasaulis ir koks kapitalizmas supuvęs. Daugumą išsakytų teiginių galima pritaikyti bet kuriai pramonės šakai apkritai. Išmeskim žaidimus, paimkim kad ir drabužių industriją, ir gausim tą patį.

Skaitant knygą kartais kilo mintis, kad čia viskas labiau ne apie žaidimų industriją, o labiau radikalios kairės ar artimos radikaliai kairei pažiūras, kurioms iliustruoti puikiai tiko žaidimų industrija, kadangi autorė gana gerai susipažinusi su sritimi. Toks įspūdis, kad pagrindinis patiekalas ne žaidimai, o politika. Nepaisant to, skaityti tikrai verta. Tema tikrai ne tradicinė, tuo labiau lietuvių kalba.

[daniela · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75/4 - i’m not sure exactly how i fall so i rounded up

this was a great introduction, especially for someone like me who casually games and is not super entrenched in gaming culture/communities. this does a great job of highlighting some of the key challenges facing the gaming industry as it relates to capitalism + modes of production, alienation of labor, commodification, climate, relations w/ the global north/south. there’s also a strong case here for the decentralization of narratology as the primary lens through which video games are examined.

the first bit of the book was strong in establishing the framework and foundation for understanding and discussion. what i feel like ended up happening was that because there were so many subareas to dive into, things became a little muddled and not as fleshed out imo. the whole chapter on comparisons to art (and art criticism) and the possibilities there that could/couldn’t be applied felt a little unnecessary. and then once we hit the second half the flow to climate impact/exploitative labor in the global south didn’t fit to me? maybe this is nitpicking.

i think the book could’ve benefitted from either being longer or just focusing on parts of the different prongs she went through. i think she had lots of great critique/analysis, just some of it was a little surface because of the amount of ground covered in this.

the last thing is the central question of the book. i think it’s an important question, but i was mildly surprised that she didn’t propose a little more as an answer. granted i don’t think she had to, but it felt like she was leading us somewhere and sort of didn’t/did.

overall, interesting and informative read. def got me thinking about a couple things.

[Phil · Rating 1 out of 5]

Gell-Mann Amnesia, You open the [book] to [a section] on some subject you know well. In [my] case, [eve online]. You read the article and see the journalist has absolutely no understanding of either the facts or the issues. Often, the article is so wrong it actually presents the story backward—reversing cause and effect. I call these the "wet streets cause rain" stories. [book's] full of them.

In any case, you read with exasperation or amusement the multiple errors in a story, and then turn the page to [another game], and read as if the rest of the [book] was somehow more accurate about [other game communities] than the baloney you just read. You turn the page, and forget what you know.

I DNF'd at about 1/3 the way through because the above was repeatedly prevalent. When the author isn't representing things backwards (why would players who literally call their differing in-game political system 'Fully Automated Luxury Gay Space Communism' be 'horrified' to think there was any lefty politics involved?) or walking into political word salad to explain in one paragraph, what could be explained in 5 words, it's actually pretty good.

The front quarter of the book is a very well researched, very even-handed history of the media that gave quite a few insights and leaves you with some more reading to do. However, no one who has interacted with gaming in the past decade will make it though the "levels" section of the book which grasps desperately at no-one-has-played-this webgames and uses kotaku opinion pieces of primary research and reference, without wincing.

[Andreea · Rating 2 out of 5]

As someone working in the gaming industry, I was really looking forward to this book, hoping for some fresh insider insights. While it's probably going to be really informative for newcomers to the industry, Everything to Play For didn't quite hit the mark for me.

This book ends up in a frequent pitfall of non-fiction titles - it starts from very basic explanations and only scratches the surface of the more in-depth ideas.

That said, there were definite highlights. The section on the history of gaming was clearly well researched and fun to reminisce about. The author did a solid job highlighting both the big names and some lesser-known early developers, especially the hidden women who made it happen, which was refreshing to see. I also enjoyed that the author didn't shy away from discussing the difficult topics. Gaming has had its dark moments over the years, and while there was no magical solution provided, at least it pushes the readers to consider where we came from and where we're headed.

I really wanted to love this book more. The blurb seemed interesting and I was ready for a book by gaming professionals for gaming professionals, but the execution just didn’t click for me. If you're a newcomer to the topic and would like to understand the gaming industry however, you might really appreciate it.

✨ Disclaimer ✨ I received a free copy of this book and this is my honest review.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

My thoughts about this book are complex. I do appreciate the way this author delves into the complexities of the video game industry with nuance. They addressed a lot of topics I am familiar with and many topics I did not, and I've certainly come away with a better understanding of even the topics I was familiar with.

However, there were cases that I'm not certain I have the same opinion as the author. I do love the opportunity to consider these ideas in a more critical way! I also do wish there was more time spent on the positives of the gaming industry. The way this book is titled and branded made me think this would be a much more positive conversation, and I do think there were opportunities missed to at least cover more positive topics. And that was on top of the fact that were huge gaps in the history of games missing that I very much felt. Those could, of course, have been decisions made to prevent the book being longer than desired, so I realize maybe priorities were called. There was also one fact I noticed immediately as inaccurate (and double-checked, just to be sure I hadn't missed something) early on in the book, which unfortunately colored the rest of my experience.

Generally, I think this book addresses a lot of interesting topics in the gaming industry and gave me a lot to think about! Though I think there's still a lot more to learn about the impact videogames have had on the world.

[KT · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent if somewhat shallow analysis of videogames through the lens of cultural marxism

Felt the book was at its best in discussing the tension between videogames as mediums of struggle and justice while recognising that the videogame industry and its representational practices embody neoliberal capitalism and its associated limitations as a meaningful terrain to advance progress. How this unfolds varies from a marketing ploy that serves the publisher/developer and the interests of capitalism to raising class consciousness that could lead to practical political organising underlining that real political victories are difficult to achieve and involve real risk - somewhat incompatible with just playing a videogame
Good discussion also on how the videogame industry operates and has been incorporated into global capitalism and the industry's own (lack of) awareness of, as well as how videogames more broadly as a medium of play, cognitive growth and human interaction has been appropriated by capitalism for speculation and exploitation

[Gintaute Riabovaite · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nuostabus Marijam darbas. Tiems, kurie tikisi knygos apie žaidimus, siūlau neskaityti, negaišti laiko ir vienetais nevertinti. Tiems, kurie nori sužinoti KAIP žaidimai kuriami, kokiose galios plokštėse jie dalyvauja, kokia politika už to slypi, išnaudojimas ir panaudojimas piktiems tikslams, bus labai įdomu. Plati, įvairiais pjūviais žaidimų pramone nagrinėjanti knyga. Pripildymas įvairių palyginimų, kurie padeda suvokti argumentų svorį. Labai patiko ir teoretikų, kuriais remiamasi pasirinkimas, autorės savirefleksija ir autografinis indelis į knygą bei aiškiai deklaruojamos politinės pažiūros. Nors ir pati esu labiau centro kairės, man buvo labai įdomu skaityti argumentaciją ir požiūrį, kuris yra labai atviras. Manau knyga labai savalaikė. Aš pati su vaizdo žaidimais turiu minimalią patirtį, maždaug mario ir sonic ant segos kasečių iš gariūnų bei dar kažkiek guild of wars, kai reikėjo rašyti bakalaurą ir ieškojau erdvių prokrastinuoti, bet tai nebuvo jokia kliūtis skaitant, galbūt net dar atviriau galėjau priimti turinį, nes į priekį vedė smalsumas.

[Alise Miļūna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fresh and informative.
As an industry, videogames have outgrown movies and music. They have a nasty human rights record and environmental footprint related mainly to energy consumption and how hardware is produced. However, the author loves videogames and believes that they could be redeemed because of their artistic, social, and political potential that, they argue, has been overlooked by progressive movements. I was not quite convinced*, but liked a suggestion that games, music, and movies could be categorized not just by genre, but by their modes of production - modern slavery vs ethical conduct, environmental destruction vs circularity and regeneration etc.

* P.s. recently discovered BioHybrid, a design project for game controllers made from a kind of kombucha leather. Innovative examples make transformation more believable - if there will be further editions of this book, it would be nice to see more of that in the hardware and data centre section.

[Vaughn Highfield · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting essay that really highlights the many aspects of the games industry that need to be properly scrutinized if we want to make meaningful, impactful, change.

For the most part it's an enjoyable read but occasionally it does feel a little bit like Marijam is perhaps hammering the same point for a bit too long. The first couple of impacts drive the point home nicely, with the rest really just turning the very valid points into repetitive noise that's just getting in the way of hitting home that next nail. There are also a handful of odd typos (likely missed by an Editor) and one factual inaccuracy around a game title (which honestly isn't a big deal in the grand scheme of things).

I'd be very interested to see a future edition with an afterword where Marijam addresses the sweeping layoffs that hit in 2024 (presumably after this book went to print). His ability to assess and dissect the industry would make this bleak stage of games quite interesting to read about.

[Matthew Leggatt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was fortunate enough to be sent an early copy of this book by the author and it's great. It's easy to read and follow but contains plenty of detail. It's clear that it has been written by someone who is both very knowledgeable and who really loves videogames. If you're looking for a history of gaming this book certainly has that. There's a comprehensive section near the beginning of the book, but for me, personally, I was most interested in the argument. The author does a good job setting out the challenges the industry faces. There's detail about controversies but there's also positive thinking here and real insight into how this massive industry needs shaping as we move forward. In many ways the book might be likened to Jane McGonigal's book Reality is Broken but that book is more than a decade old now and so this represents a timely update.

[tsanmii · Rating 4 out of 5]

The hyper-specificity of the book's subject really got me hooked, and wow. They covered a lot. Overall, very intriguing and there's so many good game recs here :))

Random highlight I liked:

“[...] the perceived social achievements of a piece of political art are never compared with those of real-life social projects. Instead, they derive their critical value in opposition to more traditional or abstract art, which is not concerned with saving the world. Socially aware art validates its own existence precisely because it doesn’t present as ‘artistic’. The aspiration is always to move beyond art, but never to the point of comparison with similar projects in the social domain.23 Instead of inquiring about efficacy, the tendency is to compare artists’ projects with those of other artists on the basis of ethical one-upmanship.”